Testimonials

"
Craig is wonderful to work with because he looks at the total picture when helping search for a new home. His background in design engineering helps you see what a home could be, that otherwise might not look like something you would initially want. He has a very good eye for design and makes looking at even the worst home as an exciting opportunity. His knowledge of Orange and LA Counties is amazing and can help pinpoint exactly where you might want to live based on your needs, wants, hobbies and family activities. He is also a businessman and understands the value of common courtesy, returning a phone call promptly, and has a high level of professionalism. I have also worked with him on relocation needs of my physicians moving to California and his easy-going manner and ability to work with pretty much anyone has been a tremendous asset to our organization. He is awesome to work with!
"

- Nanette Sanders

"
We had the privilege of working with Craig on a recent home purchase in Ladera Ranch. He helped us find the home of our dreams ... paying close attention to what we wanted, the type of area we were looking for, and showing us properties that showed us he had a clear understanding of our design and architectural likes. He did not waste our time looking at homes he knew fell outside of our check list of "must haves". We made an offer. However, even though we were prequalified for such purchase, we ended up having to cancel the deal. While I might not normally write a testimonial, Craig helped us through an incredibly unfortunate and difficult situation when the sellers decided we were in breach of contract by canceling such purchase and decided they were going to sue us for our $50,000 of earnest money. He worked tirelessly with his internal team, who were also great by the way (thanks Mikki O'Flaherty!), and helped us navigate the process of responding to the complaint. He maintained a calendar and timeline with chronological events of the entire 45 day process that we were then able to use to respond back to the sellers' agent/attorney. Without his diligence in managing the process, ensuring that we were following step-by-step the terms of the purchase agreement and doing everything by the book, we would not have been in a very good position. Because of Craig's business sense, understanding of the sales/home purchase process and contractual intricacies that we were completely unfamiliar with, we are sure glad he was on our side. Even though he's not an attorney and even though agents are not allowed to represent you or give you legal advice, his documentation throughout the entire process and ability to provide us with what we needed as far as events and timeline of activity, and his diligence to ensure our continued adherence to the contract, allowed us to get our earnest money back and prevail. If you are going to go into a real estate deal you want someone that understands the business side of things, the contractual stipulations and an agent that ensures that every step of the way the deal is handled from an ethical standpoint without any room for misinterpretation that could put you at risk. We had a lot of money riding on this one and it is only because of his efforts (and Mikki's!) at ensuring the process was 100% by the book that we were able to get our money back. We will not use anyone else but him and his FirstTeam team to sell our home and help us purchase a new one. Craig is amazing! We can't thank him enough for what he did for us.
"

About Craig Preston

Craig grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Design Engineering. After only 4 years of using his training in combining both form & function, he moved into the emerging PC industry where he spent the next 21 years helping engineering colleagues, designers, architects, and construction industries.

In 2000, he relocated to Southern California, where he again focused on the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) markets, and continued until 2008 when his desire to help others grew beyond day-to-day management, sales, and/or marketing. It was then that he started a full-service presentation consulting company which focused on helping sales teams, marketers, and training departments become more effective. Through the study of cognitive behavior, Craig again combined form (how a presentation may look) with function (how they can effectively convert more audience members to paying customers). His services continued to grow into sales training and strategy, as well as strategic and digital marketing consulting, with occasional journeys into management strategy.

Yet, through it all, Craig continued to remodel his homes, help redesign new homes, and felt a calling back to the home building/architecture world. While looking for new homes after the recession, Craig realized many real estate agents lacked basic sales professionalism, knowledge, and vision…and realized his next path: real estate. Specifically, he wanted to help people enjoy the excitement of purchasing a new home, or renovating an older one.

Craig’s design/DIY experience and ability to envision something beyond the surface - his simple belief in professionalism, and treating the customer how he would want to be treated - his knowledge of the industry and many of the different geographic locations within Southern California (thanks to an addiction to driving for Uber/Lyft) - his understanding of the trepidation of moving, whether across town or across the country - and his outgoing, fun, and optimistic personality all contribute to making YOUR home buying experience a positive one moving forward!

When Craig is not working, he loves spending time cycling, or at the park (probably playing Frisbee) with his dogs. He has done over 50 triathlons, including 2 full Ironman distance events. He also enjoys watching movies (you'll often hear him throwing out movie lines) or attending events at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, traveling, or visiting with family and/or friends.

He also has been a full service presentation consultant (strategy, design, and coaching) for the past 10 years - working with many salespeople and trainers at companies in the aerospace and healthcare fields.

Most of all, he truly believes in taking advantage of the unique opportunities that living in Southern California provides!

Besides being an award winning salesperson, Craig is also a two (2) time Ironman Triathlon finisher (Ironman Canada, 2000 and Ironman California, 2001)

Craig graduated with a degree in Design Engineering from Northern Illinois University. There he focused on architectural and materials (specifically, plastics) as well as extra curricular activities such as governing 1200 fraternity members as the Inter Fraternity Council President, as well as working with the University administration as a liaison to the greek community. He was also selected to participate in a search for the new University President, as well as be a part of a multi-organizational think tank committee.

While he began his career designing slot machines, and then moving into plastic fasteners, it only took a couple of years as the personal computing revolution began, and Craig decided to migrate his career into sales & marketing hardware and software to his fellow engineering and architectural colleagues. For the next 26 years, Craig worked with many within those industries, such as construction, engineering, architectural, automotive engineers, and for the past years, with aerospace engineers selling highly technical software (computational fluid dynamics, computer aided design, plastic molding, and even motion simulation software packages).

Personally, he migrated from being a casual cyclist and occasional 5K runner, to starting with sprint distance (400 yd swim, 25 mile bike, 5k run) triathlons, and eventually moving up to marathons and Ironman distance (2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, and 26.2 mi run) triathlons. He even went and became a certified massage therapist while taking time off from the corporate world.

However, eventually his love of architecture and building continued to draw him back. While looking for homes with his now long time ex-girlfriend, he realized the poor quality of salesmanship from so many real estate agents, and thought it was intriguing enough to go get licensed. Upon getting his license, Craig interviewed with 12 different brokerages, and eventually selected First Team for it's unique value proposition - being able to sell more customers homes in Orange County, while representing more buyers, and doing all of it faster and for more money than the remainder of the industry.

Now Craig enjoys meeting buyers and sellers, and looks forward to helping them get the very best deals or make the most amount of money possible.

MLS® Disclaimer

Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of December 19, 2018 12:20 AM. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.

Based on information from CARETS as of December 19, 2018 12:20 AM. The information being provided by CARETS is for the visitor's personal, noncommercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties visitor may be interested in purchasing. The data contained herein is copyrighted by CARETS, CLAW, CRISNet MLS, i-Tech MLS, PSRMLS and/or VCRDS and is protected by all applicable copyright laws. Any dissemination of this information is in violation of copyright laws and is strictly prohibited.

Any property information referenced on this website comes from the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) program of CRISNet MLS and/or CARETS. All data, including all measurements and calculations of area, is obtained from various sources and has not been, and will not be, verified by broker or MLS. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.

Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of December 19, 2018 12:40 AM. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.

Based on information from CARETS as of December 19, 2018 12:40 AM. The information being provided by CARETS is for the visitor's personal, noncommercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties visitor may be interested in purchasing. The data contained herein is copyrighted by CARETS, CLAW, CRISNet MLS, i-Tech MLS, PSRMLS and/or VCRDS and is protected by all applicable copyright laws. Any dissemination of this information is in violation of copyright laws and is strictly prohibited.

Any property information referenced on this website comes from the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) program of CRISNet MLS and/or CARETS. All data, including all measurements and calculations of area, is obtained from various sources and has not been, and will not be, verified by broker or MLS. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.

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